When I broke my ankle, my sister came out to help for a few days. I told my six-year-old niece that I appreciated her sacrifice of her mother's presence , and wanted to give her a little gift as a token of my appreciation. What did she want: "a girl on an elephant." It was a toy she'd seen somewhere--that was all the information I could get out of her.Now, I was completely trapped at home. What to do? I went to Amazon.com, typed in "girl elephant" and found, well, a girl on an elephant--Island Princess Barbie, to be precise:Eureka. Two clicks, and it was on its way.Amazon has changed the way I do almost everything--almost all books I buy, almost all stuff I buy, Christmas presents, etc. are done online. I've bought appliances online. I don't go and browse.Never mind "Bowling Alone." Are Americans --heaven forbid--shopping alone? And is this a good thing? Or does having to get out and mingle in the public square ---to go to the toystore-- do something good for us?